CROWLEY, LA. RICE AND CRAWFISH

Such a deal. You can grow a crop of rice, then while the fields are still flooded, you can "grow" crawfish, harvest, then put in soy beans or another crop of rice. Hey, that will put your kids through college. Now, huge dryers dry the rice so it can be stored for years and you don't have to sell until the price is right.  I never get tired of eating rice, or crawfish, so I thought I'd learn how this is done.

First we visited the Rice Interpretive Center in Crowley, a town that boasts 200 buildings on the National Historic Register. Included was Crowley Motors, an old Ford Dealership, that houses-get this-the history of Crowley, the Interpretive Center, a Ford Museum, and the J.D. Miller Recording Studio,  plus the Mayor's office and five other city offices. Whew!  All beautifully melded in this lovely, lovely restored building. We sat on the "still usable" freight elevator and watched a film. These people did a fantastic job on this place.

As you can see, the outside of the building is beautiful. The freight elevator below shows the wooden post and beam construction on the inside. No steel girders.

Tourism Coordinator, Charlotte Jeffers told us that Henry Ford shipped Model T's to Crowley Motor Company with two to a boxcar. Ford figured out how to stack them four to a box car,  balanced on the bumper with fenders and wheels removed, cutting his costs in half and putting the responsibility on the dealer to re-assemble the cars. The Model T was so successful, Ford made it unchanged for 19 years.
He ordered  Crowley rice packed in cypress boxes. The milled cypress wood made steering wheels for his special cars. Later, he farmed out the chassis to another company. He ordered the chassis shipped in an oak crate with a blueprint for how they would be made. The milled shipping crates became wooden flooring in his cars. And we thought recycling was a new idea!

The J.D. Miller Recording studio, once owned the building. We were able to press buttons and listen to Lazy Lester, Paul Simon,  blues, zydeco and cajun greats, music that led to Rock n" Roll hits like Kitty Wells "Honky Tonk Angels."

Now, the rice.  This is a did-you-know:  One rice grain produces about 300 grains? Rice is a swamp grass? There are 120,000 varieties of rice?  Rice growing provides wetlands for migratory birds? Unique to Louisiana is soaking the rice grains and planting them by airplane?
But, this isn't what I wanted to see. I wanted to get out into one of those old mud crawlers and see how they "plant" and harvest the crawfish.

 The mud crawler was there.

The rice field was full of crawfish pots like the one above.

It was rainy and muddy. We were led astray. We found ourselves in a parking lot where there was no turn around for the Motor Home, thanks to poor signage.  Finally the right parking lot, but it was full and muddy besides. We left the Crystal Rice Company without going out on a rice field in a mud crawler. Dang!  Maybe another day.For more pictures go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/1579penn/37th8th20010Crowley#

MARDI GRAS RETROSPECTIVE

This is my second visit to New Orleans, but my first Mardi Gras. What a difference a date makes! In 2007 the city's struggles in the aftermath of Katrina were still raw and sore. What joy to be here during the Saints big win and the crowning glory of a great Mardi Gras.

Unforgettable memories forged, to take on the road with us. But, we aren't ready to leave yet. Will the City seem drab after "the ball" is over? Will it somehow lose its luster?

Sifting through my pictures, I found gorgeous wrought iron work all over town. Beautiful buildings from the 1800's preserved for posterity.

I can think of only one other city where music is like food, Vienna. But New Orleans has a unique sound and rhythm, the berceau of hundreds of great blues musicians. Not everyone can be a great musician. It tickled me to see guys on the street drumming on five gallon plastic buckets.

And the beads. I had such fun hanging them in the windows of the motor home. I figure they will lose their luster like Christmas trimmings do after Christmas and I'll take them down eventually.

And then, there is the food for which New Orleans is famous. What bounty, the Mississippi River and the ocean at your feet. Fresh fish on every corner. Alligator sausage. Muffaleto Sandwiches, gumbo, crawfish ettoufe, jambalaya. We hope to eat our way across the city.

The home cooked variety was pretty good too!

No, New Orleans is a World Class City, and she will never lose her luster, but shine on for succeeding generations. I only hope I get to return to one of my favorite cities.